


Warm Bodies

by celedan



Category: Doctor Who (2005), Torchwood
Genre: Alternate Universe - Warm Bodies Fusion, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, F/M, Ianto is the Doctor's son, Jack as a Zombie, M/M, Minor Character Death, Owen as well, Zombies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-13
Updated: 2017-08-13
Packaged: 2018-12-15 00:02:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11794227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celedan/pseuds/celedan
Summary: My Torchwood version of the movie "Warm Bodies" - Ten years after a zombie Apocalypse, Cardiff is one of the few enclaves for humans, led by the Doctor. To spite his father, his son Ianto goes beyond the Wall on the next patrol. They get ambushed by Zs, and Ianto is taken prisoner by a very peculiar Z that tries everything to protect him. Slowly, Ianto learns to trust J. And more. But then, he has to go back to his people.





	Warm Bodies

Furiously, Ianto stormed into his room, and slammed the door shut with a satisfying BANG! He knew he behaved like a child at the moment, but he didn't care. After all, his father seemed to view him as nothing more than still a child as well. So then, he could behave like one and slam doors.

A knock on the door made him bristle, but he called out a clipped “come in” since he knew that it wasn't his father who wouldn't bother with something pedestrian like knocking.

Timidly, Tosh poked in her head, and frowned at him. “Still?” she asked, and he nodded, throwing himself onto his bed with a sigh.

Calmly, she sat down next to him. “You know he's just worried for you.”

“I know!” he cried exasperated. “But I'm not a child any more. It's been ten fucking years since the 456-Virus spread, and eight since...” He swallowed heavily.

“He misses your Mum. You're all he has left.”

Ianto snorted. “He has the whole of Cardiff to care for. I'm only one of them.”

“That's not true. You're the most important person in the world for him.”

Ianto snorted once more. “But only because I'm so much like my Mum.”

Tosh frowned. “I can't remember much of her, but I was always of the opinion that you and Rose hadn't that much in common. Sure, you're both stubborn, but so is the Doctor.”

“You mean I'm not vivacious, and bold, and brave like her?” Ianto glared at her. 

Tosh cringed inwardly. “That's not what I'm saying. You're brave as well, just not... well... just not a born warrior like your Mum.”

“No, I'm a scholar,” Ianto scoffed.

“And would our circumstances be different, your father would be very happy about that,” Tosh chided.

“Yeah, but that's the crux of the matter, isn't it. The circumstances aren't different. We live in a world where even a man like my father who used to be an ambassador that despised weapons and violence was forced to turn into a cold-blooded soldier.”

“Because he had to,” Tosh insisted.

“And he's disappointed that I didn't turn out the same. That I obviously didn't see the need in leaving my true self behind, and become someone else.”

“No, I think he is glad that you preserved your humanity.”

Ianto threw his best friend a reproachful look. “You hear him often enough yourself. I'm a disappointment to him, and I'm through with the subtle needling and the disappointed looks he gives me when he thinks I don't see.”

Tosh suddenly got a bad feeling about this. “Ianto Smith, what are you up to!?”

He shrugged casually. Much too casually. So much so that Tosh became even more suspicious. “I'll come with you on the next operation.”

“No way!”

Ianto threw Tosh a scathing look. “Why not?! I've had the same training like you and Lisa and Martha. But even if I wanted to use these abilities, he wouldn't let me. He doesn't want me to go out there, but is actually disappointed that I _don't_ _want_ to go out there at the same time. So, here you are. He wants a soldier for a son, he'll finally get one.”

“ You don't know what you want, Ianto. You never wanted to be a soldier, but now you want to be one just to spite your father?!”

Ianto started to nibble on his bottom lip petulantly. “He doesn't know what he wants either. Either he wants a soldier for a son, or he wants to keep me wrapped up in cotto n wool. He can't have both.”

“Then it's all the more important that you are the sensible one here.” Tosh had grabbed his shoulder, and started shaking him emphatically. “Don't be a fool. Those operations are dangerous. If you just go out there to show your father or even yourself that you can survive beyond the Wall, you will be unconcentrated. And that could mean your death, or someone else's.”

Ianto sighed gently, but removed Tosh's hand from his shoulder. “I'm very grateful that you're so concerned for me, Tosh, but I have to do this. With or without your permission... or his for that matter.”

Sighing heavily, Tosh relented. “You don't actually think that he will let you go, do you.”

“Of course not. I'll slip through the secret gap in the Wall at Cardiff Bay Barrage. I'll join you all later.”

“Mickey will have kittens if you show up for the operation. He'll shoot you personally.”

Ianto grinned impishly. “Doesn't matter. He will not send me back alone. Much too dangerous. So, he will let me come with you.”

Tosh groaned heartfelt.

 

Everything went like clockwork. He managed to slip through the gap in the Wall beyond the Cardiff Bay Barrage, and then made his way through the deserted streets of Cardiff that lay beyond the Wall.

Predictably, Mickey almost had an aneurysm when Ianto suddenly joined the team, but his father's general and protégée and his mother's best friend/ex-boyfriend wasn't the hot-blooded young man any more he had been. So the only reaction he showed despite the vein throbbing madly on his temple was a desperate huff, an evil glare, and the order to keep marching on (it probably helped Ianto's case considerably that his godfather's opinion on how the Doctor treated Ianto like he was made of glass differed extremely from the view the man himself had of his son).

Not challenging his luck, Ianto meekly trudged with the group, flanked by Tosh and Lisa. Somewhere on the way to Rookwood Hospital, Lisa nudged him in the side with her elbow. He looked questioningly at her.

“That was stupid,” she stated, but a wide grin split her beautiful features. “But I'm proud of you that you stand up to him.”

Ianto felt a blush creeping up on his cheeks. “Not much standing up in sneaking out.”

Lisa shrugged. “Better like that than asking for permission beforehand.”

Ianto snorted. “Yeah, that way I may have the slight chance that one of the Zs eats me before I have to face my father.”

“Oh hush, you.” She slapped his arm. “You'll see. Ev'rything will be all right in the end.”

Ianto wasn't so sure about that, and when he thought closely on it, he really would prefer a Z over his father at the moment.

 

Rookwood Hospital lay about half a kilometre away from the Wall which ran along the old A48 on this side of the city. He remembered this place, had been here as a child when he'd broken his arm because his father, back then a loving, carefree, exuberant man had swung the swing on the playground much too high, resulting in Ianto to fall. But he hadn't held it against his father. You simply couldn't be cross with him. That time was long gone by, together with his mother, and, as far as Ianto knew, his father's best friend Jack who'd become a victim of the Z's as well while trying to save Rose. Ianto couldn't remember the man because of a falling out between him and his father when Ianto had only been a small child, but he knew that the former best friends had nonetheless tried everything to save the people of Cardiff and Great Britain, having planned and built the Wall together.

Ianto shook his head, snapping out of his wool-gathering. He had to be alert now. Otherwise, Tosh would end up being right, and someone would be hurt because of him.

They moved quickly and efficiently, led by Mickey, and soon were all crowded in the hospital's storeroom looking for meds and bandages and stuff. They were lucky. Although so much near the Wall, the hospital had never been their goal, so their stores were filled to the brim with useful stuff. Martha had a field-day which most of the time resulted in Mickey being a very happy man in the evening after their return. Ianto exchanged knowing smirks with Tosh and Lisa at Martha's exultant mood. 

Suddenly, Tosh froze. “Did you hear that?”

Ianto and Lisa strained their ears as well, but didn't hear anything. Mickey on the other hand had overheard Tosh, and immediately motioned for caution. Better safe than sorry, he wasn't prepared to dismiss something one of the team had noticed only because nobody else had.

They waited with baited breaths, their weapons drawn.

Ianto's hand shook slightly, but he was twitchy rather than afraid.

When after a few minutes of strained waiting nothing happened, Mickey held up his hand to give the all-clear sign.

Just at that moment, a loud crash made them all flinch violently. The door had banged open, and through it streamed a group of Zs.

“Form a line!” Mickey screamed, and in the next second, he fired.

 

For the umpteenth time that day, Ianto deeply regretted being a stubborn git. He should have stayed at home instead of wanting to play the hero.

He fired three bullets at the head of the Z nearing him rapidly with ungainly, but nonetheless quick movements. The last bullet caught it in the forehead so that it dropped down just a few centimetres away from Ianto. The others were caught up in equally desperate, frantic struggles.

It was chaos and madness, but Ianto's first instinct was Lisa. Pressing himself against a shelf in a for now Z-free aisle, he peeked around the corners looking for Lisa. The battle noises were deafening, the cries of his friends, gun shots, bursting glass and furniture...

He just decided that he couldn't sit here any longer, but that he had to help the others and find Lisa, when a lifeless body tumbled over a table, and dropped down before him.

His blood ran cold, his whole body going numb as he stared horrified at Lisa's lifeless body, her beautiful dark eyes open and staring unseeing up at him. A heavy sob ripped from his innermost being, and he scrambled to his knees to reach her. Carefully, he cradled her body, his right hand coming away smeared with blood and worse where he'd supported her head while all the while he wept bitterly. A part of his consciousness, the remaining part being able to think rationally, realised that all the blood was from the back of her skull having been ripped open to get to her brain. Bile rose in his throat, and he had to breath through his mouth to shut out the stench of blood. He didn't want to see what had been done to her. He wanted to remember her the way she was... had been. Beautiful, compassionate, brave, witty, clever...

A heavy thump made him look up, directly in the eyes of a Z. Ianto froze in terror, then he dropped the body in his arms, and reared back, pressing himself tightly against a cupboard for there was no other way he could go.

The Z looked curiously at him instead of attacking immediately. It cocked its head, and regarded Ianto contemplatively, then Lisa. It crawled nearer slowly on hands and knees until it was barely ten centimetres away from Ianto, their faces almost touching. He didn't dare breathing, and wished his heart would stop beating because he was sure the Z could hear its frantic pounding. All the while, he held its gaze, focussing all of his being on hypnotic, unnaturally pale eyes, not daring to look away first lest it attacked like a dog.

The Z sniffed him, drawing nearer to his trembling body until its cold nose touched Ianto's cheek, then his neck, and every second now he expected to be bitten, to be ripped apart.

But nothing happened.

Then the Z drew back again, and looked at him once more.

Time seemed to stand still as the Z seemed to look at Ianto for an eternity. Finally, it broke their eye contact, and looked down. It drew back the flaps of the long coat it wore, and pressed its fingers into a bullet wound in its side, its fingers coming away with dark, sticky blood. It raised its fingers, and Ianto flinched. He tried not to move a muscle when the Z smeared its foul blood onto his cheeks and forehead. Once more, Ianto had to stifle the bile trying to force its way up.

Then it looked at him once more long and hard, almost imploringly. 

“Come,” the Z muttered awkwardly, and equally as clumsy grabbed Ianto's wrist to yank the astonished young man up. Ianto considered tearing out of its hold, but in that moment, other Zs appeared next to him. But they ignored him, the blood of his Z apparently enough to cover up his human scent. So, he didn't have a choice, had he. He had to go with them. He threw a helpless look back, catching sight of all the dead friends littering the room, mourning Lisa for a last time before he had to wholly concentrate on surviving.

 

Ianto was dead on his feet, excuse the pun, but he knew he had to go on if he didn't want to blow his cover. Zs didn't become tired after all. At least they were pretty slow. Mutely, he trudged in their midst, his Z always staying at his side, throwing him furtive glances when it thought Ianto wasn't looking.

Ianto'd always had an excellent sense of time, so he estimated they were on the road for three hours already. He'd spotted a few street signs he recognised the name of, and eventually, a lot of them pointed in the direction of Cardiff Airport. Okay. At least that seemed to be the destiny of their journey. Or so he hoped...

But luckily, the Zs were really headed that way. They seemed to live there. Not really as a pack or something for most of them just moved around on their own in their trance like state. It didn't seem as if they interacted. But nonetheless, they gathered here. Maybe on a deeper, instinctual level, they felt safe together. Especially against... Ianto shuddered, and didn't even dare think of them. And then he  scolded himself a fool; thinking of the Zs as if they were animals, or as if they had feelings. No. They were monsters. And that was that.

But he couldn't deny that at least his Z (and he really should stop thinking of the thing as  _his_ ) was behaving rather peculiar. It almost acted like it... Well, Ianto couldn't really describe it. But of course, he was grateful for that peculiarity. Otherwise, he would have died in that hospital.

And in the end, he was glad that he'd got the eccentric one as well because it led him not into the midst of the other Zs dwelling in the airport buildings, but onto the runway where it brought Ianto into an abandoned plane parking there. Forgetting his fear for a few moments, Ianto looked around in wonder after the heavy door had shut behind him. The inside of the plane wasn't empty like he would have thought. Instead the Z had hoarded pile upon cluttered pile of, well, things. There were books and souvenirs from the airport's souvenir shop, every day products like toothbrushes or dishes, probably from the plane's stores. He even spotted an old record player, and for a moment, Ianto wondered if it still worked.

He looked at the Z curiously which stood awkwardly in the midst of its own home, peeking almost shyly at Ianto from under its fringe, watching him once more. Ianto frowned. It almost seemed as if this Z had a consciousness. A mindless being wouldn't hoard such curious and pretty  trinkets , right?

He cleared his throat. “Thank you,” he said equally as awkward as the Z seemed to be. “For saving my life.”

The Z grunted, and nodded in affirmation.

“But now you have to let me go,” Ianto continued beseechingly. “I cannot stay here. I have to go back to my people.”

The Z's head snapped up, its eyes wide. It shook its head. “No,” it muttered. “N-not... safe...”

Ianto sighed, and threw a cautious look outside the plane's windows. It already started to turn dark. “All right,” he relented. “At night it really may be too dangerous, but tomorrow, you have to take me back, okay?”

The Z shrugged which was neither denial nor affirmation.

Ianto sighed once more. “How come you can even speak?” he changed the topic, and crossed his arms before his chest expectantly.

The Z shrugged once more sheepishly.

“Stop that.”

Pale blue eyes peeked shyly at him once more.

“Sleep,” the Z muttered, and pointed to one of the many seats. 

“Okay,” Ianto conceded. It was probably the most sensible thing to do although he doubted that he would find even one second of sleep. Not with a Z in this close proximity. 

“Do you have a blanket? It's pretty cold in here.”

The Z nodded, and started to rummage in its many treasures. Eventually, it pulled forth a blanket, and held it out to Ianto. He tentatively took it, and went to one of the seats that was a good distance away from the spot the Z still stood. “By the way, I'm Ianto. Do you have a name?”

He looked up inquiringly.

The Z shrugged anew, and Ianto had to snigger at that.

“Forgot...”

“You forgot your name?” Ianto asked while he curled up in the seat, the blanket wrapped tightly around him. 

The Z nodded. “Ev'rything.”

Ianto looked at it contemplatively. “That's sad.”

“Only...” The Z held up its finger. “J.”

“What... oh, you mean that your name began with a J?”

A nod.

“Okay, let's see... Ehm, John? Jack? James? Jim?”

“Don't remember.”

“Oh... All right, then I'll just have to call you J. Is that okay?”

Another nod, this one more eager. “Sleep,” J then said once more, and turned away from Ianto. 

“I like the coat by the way,” Ianto suddenly called after J. The Z stopped, and cocked its head Ianto's way contemplatively so that Ianto could see the small, awkward smile twitching at the corners of its lips. Then it proceeded to one of the other seats, near the door to either guard Ianto against the other Zs, or to prevent him from leaving, Ianto wasn't sure which, and settled down in it.

 

Ianto woke up groggily, and for a moment, he didn't know where he was.

Then, he was suddenly wide awake with a start when he remembered, all traces of sleepiness wiped out by the rush of adrenalin he felt when he realised where he was.

He looked around wildly, and stopped dead in his tracks when he met J's gaze. The Z crouched on one of the seats, much nearer than the one he had gone to sleep in (did Zs need sleep, by the way?), and watched Ianto calmly, an interested, curious gleam in his eyes that Ianto hoped didn't mean that he would be J's next meal.

When the staring contest became too awkward, J eventually lowered his eyes in embarrassment at being caught staring. His cheeks didn't sport a blush, but Ianto imagined that he would be beet-red now if he still had the ability.

Ianto however continued to look at the Z, only now taking the time to check him out for the first time. Even though J's skin was deathly pale like all the other Zs, and his eyes sported this characteristic unnatural pale blue, he'd clearly been awfully handsome when he'd been alive. Ianto imagined that he wouldn't look so bad any more after a nice bath to get rid of the grime and blood on him. And a change of clothes would help, too. He didn't know if he'd normally dressed like that before the virus as well or if he had been an actor who'd been surprised by the virus while being on stage or something, but the heavy World War II-style coat as well as the braces that held up his trousers made J look a little eccentric, even if it suited him somehow.

“Morning,” he said a little awkwardly. J simply continued to stare at him.

“Ehm...” Ianto started to fidget with a threadbare edge of the blanket. “You don't happen to have something to eat around here?”

J cocked his head, but slowly got up, and rummaged around in his stuff for a while. Ianto watched him the whole time, and finally, J emerged from the depths of his hoarded trinkets with a few tins. Like an eager puppy, he proudly presented Ianto with his finds. Hesitantly, the young man took the tins. His eyes widened. In his hand he held tinned peaches and mandarins. “Oh wow. It's been ages since I had some of those.” He carefully pulled on the metal loop on the lid. Immediately, the mouth-watering scent of peaches assaulted his nose, and he closed his eyes in delight. When he opened them again, J crouched before him, and held out a plastic fork from the plane's kitchen. Ianto smiled at the Z, and took the cutlery eagerly.

J watched him closely and with interest the whole time he ate, but he couldn't be bothered with it. It simply tasted too good to bother himself with something else.

“Thank you, that was really good,” he thanked the Z when he'd eaten both the peaches and the mandarins. He cocked his head. “Do you have something to drink, too?”

J cocked his own head in answer again, and frowned. Then he searched his stores once, and eventually presented Ianto with a bottle of beer.

“Careful,” Ianto chuckled, but excitedly took the bottle. “Do you want to make me drunk?”

J averted his head awkwardly, and once more, Ianto thought he would blush if he still could. It was endearing somehow.

He leaned back in his seat, and opened the bottle. It was a little stale, but tasted fantastic nonetheless.

Still basking in his food-afterglow, Ianto startled, when suddenly, music filled the plane's cabin. His gaze zoomed in on J who had started the record player Ianto had admired the day before. “That's great!” he grinned at J, and the Z returned it with a quirk of his lips.

Impulsively, Ianto got up, and settled down next to J before the record player. Together, they went through J's extensive collection, listening to countless records for the rest of the day.

In the evening (and Ianto was shocked to realise it _was_ evening already again), they switched the player off, and simply leaned back.

“That was fun,” Ianto eventually said into the amicable silence. “Thank you.”

J grunted in answer.

“Sleep,” the Z finally said, and got up.

Ianto sighed. He wasn't tired in the slightest, so instead of heeding J's order, he went through J's treasure once more, all the while highly aware of the Z's watchful gaze resting on him. He marvelled at the little snow globe taking up a prominent place between all the things. With a sudden lump in his throat, he shook it, and watched the snow inside fall, covering the miniature Tower Bridge inside. His Mum had one that looked very similar to this. Hastily, Ianto put it back, and looked at the other things, chuckling when spotting a few magazines including some naughtier ones, and he frowned in amazement at an old pepper pot that had been decorated with round rhinestones on its glass container as well as some strange stalks glued to it, almost looking like some kind of eyestalk and stick-like arms a little lower. He threw a strange look at J. “Did you make this?”

The Z shrugged.

Ianto's frown deepened. “What's it supposed to be? Some kind of robot?”

“Don't know,” J simply said.

Making a contemplative noise, Ianto put the thing back, wondering why a living corpse should take the effort to craft plastic art that didn't represent anything at first glance. Maybe... Maybe it did mean something to J on a subconscious level. Maybe he had remembered such a thing from before the virus. A creature that differed so profoundly from the other Zs surely must have some human memories left...

Having to think about this long and hard, Ianto finally decided to go to sleep after all. He lay awake for a long time, acutely aware of J's presence every single second. But amazingly, he wasn't afraid. Not any more. The Z intrigued him more and more, and if he didn't have to get back to Cardiff, then he would have loved nothing more than to get to know the other being better. Because he was convinced that J wasn't dangerous. At least not to him. He had protected him from the others after all...

 

The next morning, J presented Ianto with some tinned food again, this time with ravioli, tuna, and apricots. He didn't dare eat the tuna, but he tried the ravioli, and although cold, they tasted divine to his hungry body.

After breakfast, he looked seriously at J. The Z started to squirm under Ianto's firm gaze.

“You have to take me back now,” Ianto said to him.

J shook his head vividly.

“You've saved me, and I'm very thankful for that, but please understand that I can't stay here. I'd either starve or fall prey to... to your friends.”

“Will protect you,” J stated determinedly.

“I know you will, but it's impossible. I belong with my people.”

They held a silent staring contest, but in the end, J averted his eyes sadly. He nodded.

“Thank you.” Ianto smiled a little pained. “I'm sorry,” he added softly.

J took him out of the plane after he had made sure that no other Zs were in sight. Swiftly, they hurried over the runway and over to the airport buildings.

“Where are you taking me?” Ianto hissed because he knew for sure that they were going in the wrong direction.

J didn't answer, but pointed ahead of him where Ianto could make out a few cars that stood in a hangar. J steered over to a bright blue convertible.

“Really unobtrusive,” Ianto snorted, but climbed in behind the wheel nonetheless. The Z grunted at him insulted. Ianto looked at him with a drily raised eyebrow. “If you think I'll let you drive, you have another thing coming, my friend.”

Huffing, the Z settled down beside him on the passenger seat, and pursed his lips.

Ianto had to suppress a snicker.

He just wanted to start the car, when a skinny Z suddenly appeared before them. Ianto froze in fear, wanting to start the car to simply run the thing over, but his hands didn't obey him.

He threw a helpless look at J, but he didn't take any notice of Ianto. Instead, he looked at the other Z. The other cocked its head, and looked at them contemplatively.

“That's O,” J suddenly explained. “My friend.”

Astonished, Ianto looked from one Z to the other. They interacted with each other after all? Until now, all of them had thought that Zs didn't form any bonds with other Zs, that they only stayed in a group because it was easier to hunt for food. Obviously, he had to reconsider his beliefs.

A sudden screeching noise made them all spin around.

With surprising speed, the most disgusting creatures Ianto had ever seen ran towards them.

“Hoix,” he breathed in horror. He'd never seen one of the degenerated Zs with his own eyes, and he wished, he never had.

“Go!” O suddenly grunted, and stepped around the car.

They looked after him when he climbed into a pallet transporter, started it, and simply drove through two of the advancing Hoix.

Impressed, Ianto looked at J who looked slightly worried instead. “He'll be all right. Hoix only attack living beings,” he reminded him, and finally, his fingers obeyed him again so that he could turn the ignition key.

He let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding when the car sprang to live with a roar, and he put his foot down on the accelerator hard. With screeching tires, the car raced out of the hangar it had been parked in and over the runway, leaving the remaining Hoix that still chased after them far behind.

 

They drove for a little while, but after having managed half of the short way back into the city, they had to stop in a little suburb called Wenvoe. It wasn't far until Cardiff any more, but it suddenly started pouring from the heavens. In the open convertible, they were drenched within minutes, so they sought shelter in Wenvoe in one of the deserted houses.

Shivering from cold, Ianto looked around the empty living room. He felt like an intruder seeing all the little traces that told him who'd lived here a long time ago. Some DVDs lying around, children's toys, framed photos on the mantle of the fireplace.

Shaking off the feeling, he headed over to the cold fireplace, and made a triumphant noise when he spotted wood piled next to the fireplace. Feeling J's curious gaze over his shoulder, he started to make a fire, and sighed in relief when he managed to kindle the first warm flames. He held his shivering hands before the flames while at the same time, he felt J's close proximity against his back like something tangible. But it wasn't a cold presence. It was surprisingly warm. Slowly, he turned around to look at his... friend, and for a moment, they simply held their gazes.

Ianto swallowed hard, and eventually, he averted his gaze. “I, um...” He cleared his throat. “I should get out of these wet clothes...” he mumbled, and started fumbling with his wet shirt clinging to his cold skin. Now, J's intense gaze on him actually started to bother him, but he ignored the feeling. Resolutely stripping down to his underwear, Ianto sighed happily when he settled down again in front of the fire to let it dry his skin. He startled when a blanket was suddenly draped over his shoulders, and he looked up at J thankfully.

The Z clumsily sat down beside him, and together, they simply stared into the flames for some time.

“Sooo... I think it's goodbye soon, hm,” Ianto eventually broke the silence. J made an unhappy sound next to him. “I know. But I can't take you with me. They would kill you.”

He startled again when a cool hand slipped into his all of a sudden. He looked at J in surprise.

“Don't go,” the Z pleaded in a whisper, his pale eyes begging Ianto to stay with him.

Ianto swallowed heavily, and squeezed J's hand sadly. “I wouldn't survive in your world. And you not in mine.”

A desperate whine made it out of J's throat.

“I'm sorry.”

“Been alone for so long...”

“I know. And I wish...” Aborting the rest of his words, Ianto leaned forward on pure instinct, and pressed his lips against J's.

The Z made a surprised noise, but then he started returning the kiss clumsily.

But suddenly, he wrenched away from Ianto, hiding his face from him.

“Hey, what's the matter?” Ianto asked concerned.

“Can't,” J mumbled.

“Well, I know it's a little unorthodox what we're doing, and I know you're technically dead, so I don't know if you actually can... well... but...”

“No.” J looked at him imploringly. “I lied.”

Ianto's blood ran cold. “What do you mean, you lied?”

J whimpered unhappily. “Lisa,” he answered finally.

For a moment, Ianto didn't understand, but when he did, all the warmth of the fire left him at once, leaving his body ice cold and numb. “You killed her,” he whispered brokenly.

J nodded. “When...” he tried to explain, “when we... eat a brain, we get... memories, dreams. I saw you in hers.”

Ianto felt bile rising up in his throat, and he withstood the overpowering urge to wipe his lips. “You ate her brain?” he asked in an icy voice.

“To survive,” J nodded.

Ianto started to shake, but if in rage or desperation, he didn't know himself. “So, you only protect me because you have her feelings for me inside your head? If it had been someone else, you would have protected them just as well?”

J shook his head frantically. “No,” he tried to assure Ianto.

“I don't believe you,” Ianto cried, rubbing furiously at the tears suddenly gathering in his eyes. Shakily, he jumped up, and started to pull on his still damp clothes, but the cold of the fabric against his skin was nothing against the coldness in his heart.

“Ianto!”

But Ianto didn't heed Jack's desperate pleas. He stormed from the house right into the rain, and jumped into the car. He didn't care that the convertible hood was still open, he just wanted to get out of here.

Racing through the storm, the heavy rain and his tears making him almost blind, he drove only for a few minutes when the car suddenly started to make strange, grinding noises. Then all at once, it just stopped.

Ianto let out a furious scream, and hit the wheel in rage. For a moment, he just sat there, but then he pulled himself together. He couldn't stay out here, he sat as if on a silver platter like that.

Climbing from the car, he started briskly marching through the rain, just following the street in the hopes that it would lead him to the Wall eventually.

 

“You have to stop moping around,” Tosh tried to cheer him up for the umpteenth time, but her friend just cowered on his bed, staring into the distance. Tosh sighed. 

“I'm not moping around,” Ianto shot back. “I'm just... It's...”

“You miss him, God help us all.”

“No! Of course not!” He looked at Tosh affronted. “He killed Lisa after all.”

“Hmhm,” Tosh made drily. “Him. Not it.”

Ianto waved a hand dismissively. “Semantics.”

“Of course.” She patted his knee. “I'm making tea. Do you want one?”

“No.”

She shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

Letting himself drop sideways after Tosh had gone, Ianto lay on his bed sluggishly. Even if he wanted to (and he really wanted!), he just couldn't stop thinking of J. He slowly started to get over the fact that it had been J who'd killed Lisa, but what really bugged him was that he didn't know if J had feelings for him on his own or because of Lisa's memories of him. And what was worse, Ianto returned those feelings.

Putting a pillow before his face, he screamed. 

If his father could hear him now, him having feelings for a Z for Christ's sake! The man would shoot him on the spot.

Suddenly, Ianto put the pillow away, and listened. Hadn't there been a noise outside?

He didn't dare breath.

There! Again.

Cautiously, he stood up, and went over to the balcony doors. Stepping outside, he couldn't see anything at first. But then, a sudden movement to his left down in the front yard made him freeze. A figure cautiously crept from between his grandmother's rhododendron bushes.

Ianto's heart stopped for a split-second when he realised who his nightly visitor was.

“ What are you doing here?!” he hissed.

J shrugged. “Had to see you,” he said helplessly.

“ You just can't... Oh, for the love of... come in...”

“ Ianto? Who are you talking to?”

Ianto spun around in panic when Tosh suddenly appeared beside him, and before he could stop her, she looked down into the garden.

“ Oh my God!” She reared back, and slapped her hands before her mouth. “That's a... that's a...” she stammered, and pointed at Jack.

“ I know!” Ianto hissed. “Be quiet.”

“ Is that?!” Tosh looked frantically from him to J.

“ Yes.”

She became calm all of a sudden, instead a highly interested gleam appeared in her eyes. “Oh.”

“ Yeah.”

“ Why don't you invite him in?”

Ianto stared at her as if she'd grown a second head. 

Tosh shrugged, and grinned drily at him. “What? You were right, he's pretty hot. Come on up, gorgeous.” The last was called down to J.

A small, flirty smile quirked the Z's lips at Tosh's comment. 

Ianto rolled his eyes, but followed Tosh back in and down to the front door. J waited on the other side, peeking shyly up at Ianto.

Ianto stemmed his hands into his hips. “Just that you know, I'm still furious at you.”

J nodded. 

“ And we will have to talk about this.”

Another nod.

“ But that doesn't mean I'll allow them to kill you. So, come in.”

Hesitantly, J stepped into the house, looking around curiously while Ianto and Tosh led him upstairs.

“ How did you get past the Wall anyway?” Tosh asked.

J cringed, and avoided to look at Ianto. “Lisa's memories.”

“ Ah, I understand.” Tosh frowned, then her eyes widened. “Oh, gross, I understand!”

She still shuddered, and tried not to think about the how and why J had Lisa's memories when they led J into Ianto's room. They sat him down onto the bed.

“ Why are you here?” Ianto asked without further delay.

“ To warn you,” J answered. 

The two friends frowned. 

“ Warn us?” Tosh asked.

J nodded. “The Hoix. They attack us now, too.”

“ But why should they do that?” Tosh wondered aloud. “They only eat living beings.”

J looked at Ianto imploringly. “We change,” he explained.

Ianto had to swallow hard. “How?” he asked shakily although he'd noticed already that J didn't appear so pale any more. He looked... more alive.

He flinched in surprise when J took his hand, and brought it up to his cheek. For a moment, Ianto forgot that Tosh was even there, and gently cradled J's cheek in the palm of his hand, happy that his friend was back with him. But then he felt it. He frowned. “Your skin... you're much warmer than before...”

“Really? Let me feel.” Tosh put her hand on J's forehead. She whistled through her teeth. “Well, I don't know what's his normal body temperature like, but that doesn't feel like a corps.”

“ Do you want to tell me that you become alive again?” Ianto clarified.

J nodded. 

Sudden hope and joy spread through Ianto at hearing this that it almost frightened him. He suppressed it brutally. This wasn't the time and the place for this.

Instead, he looked at Tosh. “We have to tell my father.”

Tosh raised one dry eyebrow. “Yeah, since you're at the top of the list of people he trusts most at the moment, he'll surely believe you.”

“I will tell him,” J suddenly spoke up, drawing the baffled attention of the two young humans on himself. He shrugged under their shocked gazes. “When he sees me, he has to believe.”

“He will shoot you on sight,” Tosh disagreed. “The Doctor is a no-nonsense person when it comes to Zs. Ever since Rose was killed by one. You won't even get one word out to explain.”

J froze all of a sudden, and looked at Tosh with big eyes. “Doctor?” he breathed. “Rose?”

Frowning, the two nodded. 

“ My father,” Ianto explained. “John Smith. He's called the Doctor. And my mother's name was Rose. Why?” A sudden, inexplicable frisson of excitement ran through him. “Do you know them? I thought you couldn't remember.”

J stared into the distance as if lost in memories, but then he looked Ianto in the eye. “Couldn't. They come back now.” He frowned. “There is something, but...” 

“ It's all right,” Ianto soothed him, instinctively taking J's hand in his. “You will remember eventually. But I have to agree with Tosh. It's too dangerous coming near my father.”

“ I have to explain,” J insisted stubbornly. “Urgent. The Hoix, they come here.”

The friends gulped. 

“ Why?” Tosh asked shakily.

J shook his head. “Don't know. But they come. Believe me.”

“ We do.” Ianto looked at Tosh gravely. “Maybe it would be best if  _ he _ tells my father after all. If I tell him, he won't believe me until he knows where I've got this information.”

“ Yeah, I'm afraid you're right. But!” Tosh perked up. “Let me get Martha. A doctor could surely come in handy to proof that the Zs really are changing back.”

“ Good idea. Would you get her?”

“ Of course.”

Ianto looked at her in confusion when she made no move to get up. “Then why're you still here?”

“ First, let's put him in the shower to make him a little bit more presentable for meeting your father.”

“ I'll manage that alone, surely.” Ianto frowned suspiciously.

“ Oh well, I'll stay regardless.”

Ianto rolled his eyes, and stood up, tugging J with him. “Come on. Shower. Miss Sato won't be satisfied otherwise.”

Before Ianto could shove him into the bathroom, J looked over his shoulder at Tosh, and winked at her saucily. 

Tosh spluttered, then giggled.

 

“ Here. This should fit you.” Ianto handed some clothes to Jack, and desperately tried to look at his face instead of the rest of his naked body. Obviously, Z didn't have any qualms about modesty. Tosh on the other hand had no such scruples, she looked her fill eagerly. 

J's suddenly frantic gaze flitted around.

“ I've burned your clothes, but don't worry,” Ianto interpreted his worried gaze correctly, “the coat's save. I'll see what can be done about it later.”

A sudden tremble of relief went through J, and he nodded, finally accepting the clothes. “It's important to me.”

“I understand. I like it, too.”

Ianto breathed a sigh of relief when J finally managed to at least put on the trousers. Now, he dared to look him over for the first time. He frowned suddenly, and involuntarily, reached out to put his fingers on J's side. The Z flinched in surprise.

“ Sorry.” Ianto looked up at his face, and met J's confused gaze. “It's just...” He hastily drew back his fingers from J's warm flesh. “Your wounds. They're closing up.”

“ Fascinating,” Tosh breathed, and leaned in closer, breaking the intense moment between the two men. 

“ Tosh, could you please go looking for Martha!” Ianto bristled, his cheeks suspiciously warm.

Tosh shrugged, and grabbed her coat. “I'll meet you just before the TARDIS. And by the way, maybe you should put some make-up on him. Hide his paleness, you know? You know were my stuff is. Bye.”

J looked at Ianto inquiringly while Tosh marched from the room. 

“ That's what my father calls his command centre.” He shrugged. “It stands for Time and Relative Dimension...”

“ In Space,” J finished for him.

Ianto stopped breathing for a moment, his gaze swivelling over to J. He gulped, shell-shocked. “It's been a private joke between him and his best friend,” he whispered.

J shrugged. “A game when we were small. It was our time machine.”

“ You're Jack... Captain Jack Harkness.” 

J, no, Jack gave a small nod.

“Oh dear...” Ianto took a deep, calming breath while frantically looking at his father's best friend whom he had lost the same day Rose had died. As far as Ianto knew, the Captain had tried to protect Rose, but had been overrun by Zs, disappearing forever. 

Jack quirked a small smile. “See, you don't have to paint my face. Doctor will know me.”

Ianto nodded as if on auto-pilot. He took in another shaky breath. “But you still want to go to him, don't you? Even if you know that he will kill you on sight?”

Jack nodded. “It's my duty. Protecting my people.”

“I understand.” And Ianto did. If there was one thing he could admire about his father, it was his sense of duty, and the need to protect his people even if Ianto didn't always agree on his methods. 

Sighing heavily, he nodded, fidgeting with the waistband of Jack's trousers before he realised what he was doing. But instead of taking his fingers away like he did a few minutes ago, he bravely slid them around Jack's sides tantalisingly slow, gently caressing the soft skin of his waist, all the while holding his gaze fixed onto Jack's muscular chest that was scattered with slowly healing scars and open wounds. 

“ Come on,” he finally said. “I'll take you to my father.”

Jack nodded.

 

They hurried through the city under the cover of darkness, avoiding brightly lit spots on the streets where they could be discovered. Just before they reached the Doctor's command centre, Tosh and Martha joined them. 

“ That's unbelievable,” Martha breathed in astonishment when she took a quick initial look at Jack. 

“ Yeah, and you have to convince my father of it,” Ianto explained beseechingly. “He'll listen to you.”

“I'm not so sure of that, but I'll try.” She sighed, and threw a look at the huge building before them just around the corner. “We should have asked Donna for help. She's the only one who really would be able to control him.”

Ianto grimaced. “I know. But she's with him right now. No chance to have gotten a hold of her. We'll have to make do.”

“ All right. Then let's go.”

Martha led the way, and they managed to enter the building swiftly without anybody stopping them.

They spotted the Doctor already from afar, bend over a sturdy desk with Donna, his second in command at his sight, discussing something with her. 

“ Stay here,” Martha hissed, and looked at Jack and Ianto. “I'll talk to him first.”

They nodded reluctantly, but hid behind one of the stacks of crates scattered in the hangar everywhere. Watching as Martha and Tosh went over to the Doctor, Jack tentatively reached for Ianto's hand, and squeezed it encouragingly. 

The Doctor frowned after Martha had spoken a few words to him, but he followed her and Tosh over to where Ianto and Jack were hiding.

“ Ianto,” the Doctor frowned when he spotted his son here in the TARDIS. “I thought I told you to stay at home.”

“ Yes, father, but please, listen,” Ianto pleaded with his father. “Something urgent came up. The Hoix are on their way.”

The frown on the Doctor's face deepened. “And pray tell, my son, where did you get this information?”

Ianto gulped, but looked over his shoulder at Jack. 

The Doctor followed his gaze, and squeezed his eyes to slits suspiciously. “Who is that?” 

“ That's the other thing I have to tell you.”

Jack stepped into the light, and the Doctor's eyes widened. “That's impossible,” he whispered, and involuntarily stumbled back a step. But in a split-second, he'd recovered himself, and drew his weapon to point it at Jack.

“ You were lost to me,” he spat. “What are you doing here, monster?”

Ianto stepped between his father and Jack. “Please, father, listen to him. He was the one who warned us of the approaching Hoix.”

“ It's a trap!”

“No. Don't you see, they are changing back. The Z becoming human again,” Ianto tried to convince his father.

“ John,” Jack spoke for the first time, looking his old friend in the eye beseechingly. 

“ Don't speak to me, you disgusting creature!”

Jack flinched, but didn't back down. “It's me,” he slowly said. “I'm back.”

“I don't believe you!” the Doctor spat. “This virus can't be cured. You know I tried. Do you think otherwise I would have shot...” He stopped suddenly, and took in a deep breath, trying to calm his feelings. Then he looked Jack coldly in the eye. “You are dead. And you're not coming back. Ianto, step aside.”

“No!” Stubbornly, Ianto stayed where he was. “Let Martha examine him. She can proof that he is turning back to human. They all are!”

“I said, step aside!” the Doctor screamed, and released the safety catch on his gun.

But Ianto didn't budge. “You won't part me from him.”

The Doctor's eyes widened. “My God, do you know what you are saying!? Do you want to tell me that you... and... and that monster...”

“He's not a monster. He's your and Mum's best friend. You should be overjoyed that he came back to you.”

“He's not! He's only a walking corpse! Now, for the last time, get out of my way!”

The sudden click of another safety catch being released made everyone freeze. They all looked to the side where Tosh had suddenly trained her weapon on the Doctor. 

“Tosh...” Ianto stammered shell-shocked.

But Tosh held her gaze firmly fixed onto the Doctor. “Doctor, I'm sorry. But Ianto speaks the truth. You just don't want to see this because when you accept it as the truth, then you have to acknowledge that maybe Rose would have been able to come back to you now as well if you hadn't shot her, but you did, and so she won't.”

“You don't know what you're talking about.”

“I think she is,” Martha backed Tosh up, and pointed her own weapon onto the Doctor now as well. “We all know it's hard, and that you still grieve, but don't punish Jack for your guilt. And for the love of God, stop being so blind! Why won't you see what's right before you!”

The Doctor shook his head vigorously. “I can't,” he whispered, but it looked like his resolve started wavering.

“What's going on here?!”

The knew voice made them all freeze, and like a deer caught in the headlights, they stared at Harold Saxon suddenly having appeared beside the Doctor. With only one look, the Doctor's cousin summed up the situation at once, drawing his weapon in shock when he spotted Jack. 

“Ianto! Run!” Tosh cried because they all knew that it would be no use trying to reason with Saxon.

Acting on instinct, Ianto grabbed Jack's hand, and made a run with him, ignoring the furious shouting behind them.

 

“ We have to get you out of here,” Ianto gasped while pulling Jack into a narrow alley. “Come on, I'll take you back to the hidden pathway through the Wall.”

Jack nodded, and followed Ianto through the dark streets, trusting him completely to find the right way without encountering any soldiers. 

When they reached the hidden pathway Ianto had used only a few days ago, they looked at each other, torn, but then a determined expression crossed Ianto's face, and he pulled Jack to the gap in the Wall.

“ What are you doing?!” Jack exclaimed in shock, and tugged at Ianto's wrist to stop him. 

“ I'll come with you,” he stated determinedly.

“ No! The Hoix are out there!”

“If I let you go now, I'll never see you again. My father will never let me out of his sight again. And...” Ianto had to swallow hard. “And I couldn't stand that. I... I love you, Jack...”

Fearfully, he looked up into the other man's eyes, looking for a clue to his true emotions. 

Then, suddenly, a beautiful little smile graced Jack's lips, and he leaned forward to kiss Ianto. 

Instinctively, Ianto wrapped his arms around Jack, and pressed himself against him. 

A sudden noise made them fly apart from each other, and they looked around frantically. Voices, still far away, but coming nearer could be heard.

“ We have to go,” Ianto urged. “You'll die if you stay.”

Jack searched his face frantically, looking for any trace of doubt, but finding none. In the end, he nodded, and followed Ianto beyond the Wall.

 

They crept through the pathway undetected, making their way into deserted territory, seeking shelter in the Old Custom House near the barrage for now.

“It's not just because of Lisa's memories,” Jack mumbled suddenly, and Ianto stiffened. “I love you despite them.”

Carefully, Ianto looked up at Jack, looking for the truth in his eyes. When he'd finally found it, he smiled at Jack. “I'm glad,” he admitted. “I should have known, really.” He averted his eyes a little shamefully. “You've been special, more human, even before you... absorbed her memories. All the things in your plane attest to that. I should have realised then that you had the ability to love on your own.”

“There is nothing to feel bad about,” Jack softly said, and gently put his fingers under Ianto's chin to raise it up. “I'm only glad you believe me now.”

“I do.”

Smiling brilliantly, almost making Ianto weak in the knees, Jack leaned down to kiss him.

A sudden clearing of the throat made them scatter away from each other though – this slowly seemed to become a pesky habit of people interrupting them.

They were faced with a group of Zs led by O. Who looked pointedly at them with a raised eyebrow. 

Amazed, Ianto looked at all the Zs huddling together before them.

“They all change,” Jack explained. 

“And because of that,” O said, “Hoix come after us now.”

“Thank you,” Ianto said. “It means a lot that you came here to warn us.”

O huffed gruffly. “Want to eat us as well know, so not only about you.”

Ianto had to laugh at the rude manners of the Z, but he supposed he was right. “Thank you nonetheless.”

“How far behind you are they?” Jack asked, but he got his answer in the next moment, when an ominous creaking made them all look up. 

Hoix! As far as the eye could see, crawling on the glass ceiling of the ruinous restaurant they were gathered in. The glass showed the first fine cracks under the weight of all the Hoix already.

“I'd say, we get out of here,” Ianto gulped, but a growl behind them made them spin around. More Hoix were coming inside, circling them. And suddenly, with a loud crash, the glass above them burst, and dozens of Hoix fell to the ground. 

Ianto instinctively reached for his weapon, but he hadn't taken it with him. Jack grabbed at his hip as well, looking for a weapon that had always been there a long time ago. Therefore, Jack pushed Ianto behind him, readying himself to fight the vile creatures off with his bare hands if need be. Around them, a fierce battle had begun already, the Hoix attacking the other Zs viciously.

One of the creatures neared Ianto and Jack. It readied itself to jump them, but a sudden shot rang through the uproar of the fight, the creature dropping dead before their feet with a bullet clear through its brain. 

“Ianto!” Mickey screamed, skidding to a halt at the other side of the spacious room, taking aim again. “Run!” 

Without starting to argue with Mickey, Ianto grabbed Jack's hand, and they ran, leaving the Hoix to the other Zs and Mickey's armed soldiers. 

“Where are we going?” Jack asked while he ran after Ianto.

“Don't know.”

“Then let me take you back to the Wall.”

“No! They'll kill you!”

“But _you_ will be safe at least,” Jack argued in frustration. “Stop being so stubborn! You're just like your mother.”

“Under normal circumstances, I'd be happy to hear that, but it's not the right moment for that, Jack.”

“Then stop arguing, and come with me, dammit!”

Without waiting for an answer, Jack passed Ianto, and grabbed his hand to forcefully drag him into another direction. Under loud protests, Ianto didn't have another choice but to follow Jack.  
But loud growling noises made them look over their shoulder. Three Hoix were following them, and one was coming from the right, blocking their way back to the barrage.

“This way!” Ianto screamed, and they raced in the direction of Penearth Quay Marina. Passing the harbour master's office, they made their way down to the docks. 

They stopped between a few old boats floating in the water peacefully, facing the approaching Hoix.

“Hoix hate water, right?” Ianto asked shakily.

“Yes.”

They looked at each other. Nodding, Jack then wrapped his arms tightly around Ianto to brace his fall, and plunged them into the water. Their fall wasn't deep, but the ice cold water crashing together above them robbed all the breath from their lungs. The only warmth Ianto felt was Jack's body still pressed tightly to his. But they had to get back to the surface soon again before the cold paralysed them. Forcing their aching limbs into obedience, they swam back up, and took in huge gulps of air into their burning lungs when they'd broken through the surface. 

Frantically, they looked around. The Hoix were gone. 

“Where are they?” Ianto wondered. They had to get out of the water, but he didn't dare to lest the Hoix were still around. But it was so cold, he almost couldn't hold himself up any more. Jack swam over to him, and put one arm around him to steady him. With desperately cold fingers, Ianto gripped Jack's forearm tightly to keep afloat.

“I don't know. But we can't...”

A sudden shot tore through the air, and Jack's words died in his throat. 

Ianto let out a desperate wail when Jack's grip around him loosened suddenly, and he had to watch as Jack sank back down into the water, a bright red spot already sullying the water around him. He looked around desperately, and spotted his father standing up on the dock, his smoking gun still pointed their way. He wanted to climb out of the water, and shake and punch and scream his father, but he had to think of Jack first. Taking a deep breath, Ianto dove into the icy water. He managed to grab Jack's slowly sinking figure, and with all his might, his body only fuelled by adrenalin and desperation, dragged Jack back up to the surface. Now it was him who had to steady the other man, and he lost no time to swim towards the ladder leading up onto the dock. Helpful hands grabbed for them, hauling him and Jack up onto the dock. Batting Tosh and Mickey's hands away, Ianto drew Jack into his arms again immediately, rocking him in his arms. 

“How could you!” he roared accusingly at his father who stood a few feet away. “Look what you did!” Helplessly, Ianto pressed one hand against the wound in Jack's shoulder, trying to stem the blood flow.

“He's bleeding,” Tosh suddenly breathed, and Ianto looked at her as if she'd gone mad.

Jack coughed suddenly, opening his eyes. “Ianto,” he whispered, and Ianto looked down at him, slowly comprehending what Tosh tried to tell him. “You're bleeding,” he informed Jack astonished.

“Yeah, feels like it,” the Captain grimaced.

“You're bleeding!” Ianto cried again, tears of happiness springing to his eyes.

“Corpses don't bleed,” the Doctor whispered horrified while staring down at his best friend. And all of a sudden, he became aware of the weight of the gun in his hand. Disgusted, he threw it away, and still looked shell-shocked at the miracle before him.

“You're alive,” Ianto whispered. “Really alive.” And to make sure one hundred percent, he pressed his bloodied hand onto Jack's heart, feeling its beat strong and steady (if a little fast) under his palm. Amazed, Jack put his trembling hand beside Ianto's, feeling his own heartbeat as well. “I'm alive,” he said gob-smacked.

“Yes,” Ianto smiled, and he couldn't help himself, he had to kiss Jack. 

But it was only a short kiss because Jack gasped in pain, so that Ianto reared back hurriedly. 

“Martha's on her way,” Mickey said beside them. “It will be all right.”

Jack blinked at the dark skinned man kneeling beside him. “You?!”

“Hey, Captain Cheesecake,” Mickey greeted at him with a smile, not stopping the happy tears spilling from his eyes.

“Captain Beefcake if you please,” Jack managed with a weak chuckle. 

“Some say this, others that,” Mickey dismissed him cheekily, and made way for his arriving wife who immediately started administering first aid.

“Jack, I'm... I'm so sorry,” the Doctor stammered while he watched Martha work on the wound in Jack's shoulder. He couldn't bring himself to look Jack in the eye out of shame.

But the Captain smiled at him soothingly. “It's all right, Doc. I've had worse.”

A broken laugh burst from the Doctor. “Yeah, obviously.”

“So, no hard feelings, got it?” Jack admonished him with a sternly raised eyebrow.

The Doctor nodded shakily, not daring to believe that he had been forgiven so easily. “No hard feelings.”

After Martha'd patched him up provisionally, Ianto and Mickey carefully helped Jack up to lead him to one of the SUV. Only now did they spot a group of Zs hovering uncertainly in the background, but upon seeing Jack up and about, O stepped forward. The two men smiled at each other. “Mickey,” Jack addressed his friend. “Would you please take care of my friends here?”

Mickey let go of Jack carefully. “Sure. After all, O saved my life up there.”

“Owen.”

The other's blinked, but the skinny Z shrugged. “Doctor Owen Harper. At least, I can remember who I am.”

Jack smiled at him. “Pleased to meet you, Doctor Owen Harper. I'm Captain Jack Harkness.”

“Already got that, you pompous git. Where's your fancy hero coat?”

“In the best of hands, just like myself,” Jack grinned.

Ianto, Owen, and Mickey all rolled their eyes fondly. 

“Go get patched up. Otherwise I'll do it, and I'm way out of practise,” Owen threatened, and made a shooing noise towards the SUV where the Doctor was already waiting impatiently on the passenger seat, Donna behind the wheel.

Jack laughed, but let Ianto help him into the car.

“Hi, I'm Donna Noble,” the curvy redhead introduced herself, and turned around to get a better look at Jack. 

“Captain Jack Harkness, hi,” Jack grinned saucily at her.

“Oh please, stop it!” the Doctor grumbled.

“I'm just introducing myself,” Jack complained.

“He's really just introducing himself,” Donna confirmed. “He can introduce himself all he likes.”

The Doctor groaned, now knowing what he really hadn't missed about Jack, but he was all the more glad to feel this exasperation again, and Ianto didn't know if he should be amused or annoyed at this shameless flirting. In the end, he decided to simply stake his claim, and kiss Jack forcefully.

They almost had an accident because Donna's eyes were on the rear view mirror instead of the street.

“Ianto...” the Doctor whined after they had come up for air again. “You're only twenty. He's much too old for you!”

Ianto chuckled, and helped Jack lie down in his lap since the extensive kiss had been too much for Jack's strength. He lovingly – and a little possessively – started to card his fingers through Jack's wet hair. “Technically, he's now only five years older than me, Dad. Being a Z preserved his age after all.”

The Doctor sighed heavily about his son's unfailing logic while the two young men grinned at each other on the back seat.

“I see, being a genius runs in the family,” Jack grinned up at him, and he would have liked nothing more than to kiss Ianto right now again, but he was much too weak to raise his head. Luckily, Ianto seemed to feel the same urge because he bend down to kiss Jack.

The Doctor groaned while Donna sneaked a peek again in the rear view mirror.

 

Only a few months later, Ianto and Jack stood on top of the Millennium Centre, and watched as the Wall was being torn down, making way for a whole new world. The remaining Zs had all been fully healed by being carefully integrated into human society while the Hoix had finally starved without any prey. They had spread the news to other human enclaves in Great Britain, and those had reported successes regarding the recovering Zs as well by now. Tentative contact with other countries had been re-established who followed the proceedings in Great Britain with immense interest. Soon, the country could finally, after ten long years, be reintegrated into the rest of the world. 

But to be truthful, Ianto didn't care. Of course he was glad that it was all over now, but he didn't have any interest in the rest of the world, in taking up travelling or studying in other countries like Tosh wouldn't stop talking about any more. At least not now. All he wanted sat here beside him; his first priority at the moment was showing Jack life again. 

He looked to the side where, a little further away from them, Tosh and Owen sat, watching the demolition of the Wall as well from up here. 

And obviously, Tosh had taken up a similar agenda regarding the grumpy doctor if how close they were sitting together was any indication.

He looked back up at Jack. “Are you happy?” He couldn't help himself, he simply had to ask.

Jack smiled down at him. “Yes. Thanks to you.”

A smile broke out onto Ianto's face, and he snuggled up to Jack. “Okay,” he simply said, and contently looked towards the horizon.

**End**

 

 

 


End file.
